Updates on three areas in Chinatown: the Chinatown Park, Parcel 24, and Kensington Place were the main topics at the recent Chinatown Safety Committee Meeting on October 6.

Representatives from the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, the organization responsible for the stretch of greenway along Surface Road including the Chinatown Park, came to the meeting in hopes of starting a dialogue about the look and feel of the park with community members.  Having planted 1200 plants already, the Conservancy has ordered more plants to complement the park later this Fall.  The Conservancy recently received a $10,000 donation from the Brown Fund, and staff are currently exploring ideas as to how to best use the dollars for the park.  The amount can purchase furniture, such as sets of tables, chairs, and umbrellas, since staff observed a strong need for more shade in the park.  Alternative ideas include canopy installations, the addition of a 20 feet by 20 feet pavilion, and the addition of a new planting bed at the edge of the park that is currently exposed to the sidewalk and cars.  Staff at the Conservancy hope to compile community members’ ideas into a funding package for potential donors.

Janelle Chan, Executive Director of Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC), updated the community on the developments of Parcel 24, the second topic at the meeting.  Parcel 24, the area south of the turnpike, is proposed to include 345 units of housing, an addition of 20 units from the original proposal.  Of the 345 units, 50 will be affordable condominiums, 95 will be affordable rental units, and the remainder will become rentals at market rate.  “The prospect that building can happen a year from now is exciting,” says Chan, but ACDC wants more commitment from the state.  ACDC is open to suggestions from the community and will report back with new finalized graphics and details.

Updates on Kensington Place, the third topic of discussion, were presented by Ralph Cole, the president of Kensington Investment Company.  The building, bound by Beach, La Grange, and Washington Streets, stands at 29 stories and 290 feet, and includes a maximum of 395 units, all of which are now rentals at the market rate.  In the most recent proposal, parking is reduced to a 0.4 ratio of units, or approximately 145 spaces.    In terms of benefits to the community, $400,000 will be donated to Liberty Tree Plaza as a commemorative piece to the history of the area.
The next Chinatown Safety Committee Meeting will be held on November 3, 2010.

Joanne Wong is a Sampan correspondent.